King of Ghosts
by BH72
Summary: Owen Granger was always on the outskirts of the Los Angeles team, since he became the Assistant Director of NCIS. But he longed to be accepted by them. He had become a loner over the years and a workaholic. When he wasn't working, he was driven by a ghost from his past, in hope of finding the King of Ghosts. A one Shot written for the NCISLAmagazine's Granger Appreciation week


**King of Ghosts**

By BH72

_One shot written for the NCIS Magazine Granger Appreciation week._

Owen Granger left the bar after celebrating with Detective Deeks and Agent Blye. He had been disappointed Agents Callen and Hanna had declined, he was trying hard to have them accept him as part of their family. As he pulled into his new house he was renting, seeing he was spending so much of his time in the Los Angeles office, his thoughts went to his family. He knew he had failed at the duty of husband and father, which pained him deeply. But it came with the job, always off somewhere unknown and classified, for who knew how long.

He unlocked the door and switched on the lights. The house came with furniture, which he was pleased with, seeing he never had the time to shop for things like that. He had a tailor he used over the years for his suits, but other than that, he shopped as little as possible. What he spent his time, when not working, was something that had him driven from the early 1970's. He had been caught behind the iron curtain in Eastern Germany, as a spy, but one man came to his rescue and aided him in escaping. He opened his laptop and signed in on the CIA's system using his old ID, which he had managed to keep, since moving across to NCIS. He switched on his espresso machine to brew a cup of coffee. It was going to be another long night. He rubbed his shoulder as an ache from using right arm throughout the day took its toll. It was imperative he hid his pain from those around him. His shoulder hadn't been the same since he had been shot nine months earlier. He had gone in full throttle with Agent Hanna to rescue Agent Callen from the Comescus, knowing how important it was to save the young man.

With coffee in hand, he returned to the table and began his search for an old friend. Old photos of the man who had once saved his life, when he should have died on German soil sat beside his laptop. Piercing cerulean orbs shone through the sandy blond hair that overhung his forehead. His smile plastered on his face, as he lifted his son high in the air. "Where are you Nikita? Your son needs you."

It had been too long since he had seen his friend and saviour. Concern for his wellbeing had ensued him since he managed to get him out of the prison camp in 1980. He had help from Arkady Kolcheck, who had helped Nikita in getting him out of Eastern Germany, so he knew he could trust the Russian. Many times he had visited the former KGB officer, when in Los Angeles, hoping between the two of them, they could find Nikita Reznikov. Although he had hoped Arkady knew where Nikita was, he never gave up on his search, even when the Russian had disappointed him, in not being able to help him. He suspected Arkady was doing what he could to find his old friend as well.

Watching Callen's expression inside Rhinehart's house, when he saw the words written in blood, "Callen, we have your father," kept him awake at night. He had tried to help Callen as much as he could, but without telling him that he knew his father, he couldn't even tell him what the G stood for. He knew Henrietta had no knowledge of the man's name, although she knew Clara Callen. Unfortunately, his first meeting with Agent Callen had gone so very badly. So much had changed the man, since he had seen him as a child, happy and loved by both parents. He should have known and been prepared for it, but it still bothered him just the same. He'd berated himself for his reaction to Agent Callen.

Since meeting Agent Callen for the first time in thirty-five years, he became more resolved in helping him find his father. Not just for Callen, but for Nikita, who he knew, loved both of his children and his wife dearly. They were his life, and it was reflected in the man, when he was around them.

Owen's fingers froze over the keys, when an image match appeared on his screen. The man was much older than he had last seen him, which matched the age he would be now. In his late 60's. But those cerulean orbs remained the same. Owen furrowed his brow as he looked at where Nikita was found. _Pheonix, Arizona. He's coming here. He must know where his son is._

The hairs on the back of Owen Granger's neck stuck up, as he felt we wasn't alone. He swiftly pulled his weapon out of his jacket, but was too late.

"You've become slow in your old age, Owen." The Russian accent had faded over the years. It was tinged with an Texan accent.

"Where have you been all this time, my old friend? Your son needs you." Owen turned and smiled, when he saw Nikita Reznikov standing by his back door, his weapon, now hung in the rear of his trouser's waistband.

Nikita walked over, as Owen stood. Both men assessed the other. "I see you never gave up looking for me, Owen." He moved in and hugged his old friend. "Michael told me how you moved across to NCIS to be closer to my boy." Nikita's eyes were sad , as he thought about the loss of an old friend.

"He doesn't like me, you know. I've tried, but he has too much of Clara's stubbornness in him." Granger slowly pulled away from his friend and assessed how living on the run had aged him.

"You should tell him that you know me." Nikita admitted. "He'll let his guard down then. He's only trying to protect himself. He's been alone for too long." Sadness was evident in his eyes. "But his partner looks like he's taken him under his wing. Become a brother to him, like you were to Donald Blye."

Granger smiled at the fond memories of his dear friend. "Your son works with his daughter. They're good friends."

"I know. I've watched you all from a distance. Michael and Arkady have been very good to me." Nikita smiled, knowing how much Owen had tried to get information from Arkady. "Don't be hard on him, Owen. He was on direct instructions from me not to tell you anything. I needed to know it was safe for my son as well as for me, before I showed myself." His visage darkened. "However, I'm not sure how he'll receive me."

"He's found a film of you and Amelia, with him when he was a baby. Until then, he thought you didn't love him. But since he's found the film, he's been more settled. I think he'll welcome you, Nikita. He needs you. Needs to know his name."

"Tell him." Nikita stated. He looked around him, at Owen's house. "Maybe then, he'll furnish his home more like this, instead of living like he's on the run." It had saddened him to see how little his son had in his life. "Then he might settle down and have a family of his own."

"He's out on a date tonight. I think her name is Joelle." Owen knew Sam had set the blind date up, with the help of his wife, Michelle.

"Kindergarten teacher." Nikita smiled. "I've met her. She's nice."

"You've met your son's girlfriend, but not your son?" Owen inquired, surprised by this admission.

"She was with Gregori, but he didn't recognise me." Nikita chuckled over Owen's surprise. "Why are you so surprised, Owen? I've been good at being a ghost for so long, no one would recognise me, not now. Although I'm annoyed you've managed to find me in Phoenix." He nodded over to Owen's laptop.

"I've been searching for you, for a very long time, Nikita. Your son has been searching for answers just as long. Don't you think it's time for you to tell him who you are?" Owen had tried his best for Callen.

"Soon." Nikita answered, truthfully. He felt it was safe enough now. He hoped his enemies had lost interest in finding him.

Owen Granger woke up on his couch, rubbing the cobwebs from his mind as he ran his hand over his face. He needed to shave, his bristles were showing how much time he was spending looking for ghosts of the past, than sleeping. He furrowed his brow as he thought over his dream. _Was any of it true? Was he going mad? Had he really seen his old friend last night? _One thing he knew, it was time to tell Callen that he knew his father and what the G stood for.

He paced the tiled floor of the former water treatment plant, as he waited for Agent Callen to enter the building. At 9, the man in question entered the building. "You're late." Owen snapped. His patience was running thin.

"Joelle's car at the mechanics. I had to drop her off at work on my way in." Callen frowned, he hated when Owen behaved like this.

Hetty observed Owen Granger for the past half hour, as he paced the floor. He stopped when Callen entered. She was curious over what had caused the older man to be on edge.

"I need to talk with you." Callen raised his eyes and gave his partner a look, before following the Assistant Director into the armoury. He stood with his arms over his chest as he watched Owen pace the floor.

"What's going on, Granger?" He narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know if I'm seeing things of it I really saw him last night." Owen continued to pace.

"Saw who?" Callen furrowed his brow, confused.

"Your father." Owen stopped in his tracks. "I'm sorry, Agent Callen, I haven't been honest with you. He told me to tell you…"

"You know my father?" Callen moved closer to him, annoyed Granger had kept this from him.

"He saved my life, he and Arkady. I was caught in Eastern Germany, as a spy. They got me out." Owen admitted.

"What? You and Arkady both know my father?" When were you going to tell me?

"Yes." Callen's hand fisted together, ready to punch the older man. But it was the sadness in Granger's eyes that stopped him. "I know you've never liked me, but I know who you are. What the G stands for. I have a photo," Owen pulled out the photo he kept safe all of these years and handed it over to Callen, "your father was so happy, you all were."

Callen carefully fingered the photo of his father lifting a younger version of himself in the air. The happiness in both of their faces shone through their matching cerulean eyes. "Tatã." He turned the photo over and read the names written on it, a long time ago. _Nikita and Gregori, March 1973._

"I took the photo of you both, on your third birthday." Owen explained.

"This is my name? Gregori Callen?" Callen inquired. He licked his lips, as emotions ran rife through his body.

"Gregori Reznikov. You were hidden with your mother's family name for protection. No one knew about the Comescu blood feud."

"My father, he's here?" Callen looked over at him, with hope. It broke Owen to see how much the circumstances of his life had effected him.

"I hope so, else I've gone insane." Owen rubbed his hands over his short hair. "You've met him, when you were out with Joelle. He likes her. I don't know where, but he told me last night. It's the first time since 1980, when Arkady and I helped him escape prison in Russia. I've tried to find him since then, in hope to reunite you both."

Callen stood in shock, at Owen and then looked back at the photo. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, I should have, but I didn't know how to, I had no idea where he was. I needed to find him first."

Callen scanned through images of people he had met, while he was out with Joelle. Waiters, barmen, other customers. He tried to find a face, that he should have recognised. He knitted his brow together as he tried to find his father. "Where did you see him?"

"He came to me, last night. I finally found him on kaleidoscope. He had been in Phoenix. Then I realised I wasn't alone. Your father was in my house, talking to me. It all felt like a dream, when I woke up this morning. That's why I've been pacing the floor, waiting for you."

Callen nodded. He saw how much the Assistant Director cared. He saw it in the older man's eyes, over trying to find Donald Blye's killer and how he killed the man, in order to save Kensi's life. He realised now, that he had misjudged Granger. "You really do care." He revealed. "I'm sorry I've not given you a chance. I need to see him. Did he say anything to you about wanting to see me?"

"Yes he did. Boat shed." Owen remembered the rest of the conversation he'd had with Nikita the night before.

"When?"

"Today."

"Let's go." The two men exited the mission, for the boat shed. Sam followed, concerned and curious, although he kept his distance, just incase he was told not to come.

Owen pressed the passcode into the lock and entered the boat shed. He and Callen searched the building, finding it empty. Frustrated, Callen walked outside, only to bump into Sam. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing?" Sam looked over at Owen and saw he was on edge. "What's with you this morning, Granger?"

Owen sighed. He knew they all called him Granger. He was too tired to correct Callen and Sam over his title. A movement from behind the senior agents caught his attention, causing him to smile.

Callen caught the smile and turned. He stared at an older version of himself. "Tatã?"

Sam furrowed his brow and pulled his weapon out, aiming at the intruder.

"It's alright, Sam. I would like to introduce you to Nikita Reznikov. Nikita, this is Agent Sam Hanna, Gregori's partner."

Sam frowned, looking between his partner and the man before him. He lowered his weapon. He saw tears well up in Callen's eyes.

"Zdravstvuyte , moy syn." [Hello, my son.]

"Papa, gde ty byl?" [Dad, where have you been?] Callen couldn't believe it. Here he was, finally reuniting with his father. He never thought Granger would be the one to reunite them.

Nikita took the final step closer and hugged his son. Callen buried his face into his father's shoulder and cried. Both men, full of emotion, shook and cried.

Sam looked over and saw tears glisten in Owen Granger's eyes. He stepped away from the reunion and made his way over to Owen Granger. "You are full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I've been searching for him, Sam. Every spare moment, I've been looking for him, to reunite them." Owen admitted.

"Why? Why do you care?" Sam inquired. The man before him, was much of a mystery as Hetty was.

"Nikita saved my life. He became a good friend. I introduced him to my cousin." Owen explained. "Clara was my cousin. My mother was a Callen. George Callen was my uncle."

"Callen's grandfather?" Sam was amazed at this revelation.

"Yes. But I haven't told Callen any of it. I only told him that his father saved me and that I helped him escape prison in 1980." Owen revealed.

"You should have told him who you were? He's been searching for family and all of this time, he's had you." Sam sounded annoyed with him.

"Sam is right, Owen. You need to tell Gregori the rest." Nikita walked over to his old friend.

"Tell me what?" Callen frowned. What else hadn't Granger told him.

"That's he's family." Nikita told him.

Callen furrowed his brow, looking at Granger. "I don't understand.?"

Owen Granger sighed. "After Nikita rescued me, I introduced him to your mother, Clara. She was my cousin."

"Cousin?" Callen's mind was fuzzy from everything.

"Your grandfather, George Callen, was my uncle. My mother was a Callen. You have quite a lot of family back home." Owen felt awkward over the admission.

"Home? Where is home?" Callen inquired, curious.

"Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania." Owen told him. "Cousins galore."

"I never thought of you having any family." Callen admitted. "A bit like me." He added.

"I may have failed at the marriage thing and fatherhood, but that doesn't mean I don't have any family. I have three kids back in Pittsburgh. Second cousins, all married with kids of their own." He pulled out photos of his kids and their families. "That's just from me. I have four brothers and a sister, there's their families as well."

"Wow! For so long I've longed for family. Now I have my father and cousins?" Disbelief was evident in Callen's face.

"And a name, Gregori." Sam added, with a chuckle. He had wanted this for his partner for the past seven years. "And Granger as a cousin." He added for effect.

Owen knew he was the butt of many jokes of the team, but knew that Callen had accepted him and so had Sam. He hoped that the rest of the team would welcome him into their inner sanctum. They were a tight knit family. He craved to be part of that family that they had all created, from the need, due to the lack of family in their own lives.

Owen's eyes bulged, when Callen caught him by surprised and hugged him. He stiffened at the contact, he wasn't used to it. He had closed up his emotions long ago, to protect himself. His broken marriage and loss of his children, although he saw them whenever he travelled back to Pittsburgh.

Nikita laughed at him. "You need to open up more Owen."

Callen saw how awkward Owen was over the hug and the whole situation. "I wish you had told me years ago, Granger."

"But you hated me." He was never good at allowing people in close to him.

"All you had to do was let us in. Let's start over. Hi, Owen. I'm Gregori Reznikov. It's good to see you again, after so long."

"Hello, Gregori. You would've made your mom proud, how you've turned out." Owen saw so much of Clara in her boy, over the years. His stubbornness, his determination, his ability to solve crimes, catch the bad guys and plan on the fly. "You remind me so much of her."

_Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this one shot._


End file.
